Tag: Handmade Style
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A New Retro Top in a Heavenly Blue Print
I recently made this retro top — a reissued design from the BurdaStyle archives — that seems just as fresh in 2025 as when it was originally published in 1955. The simple silhouette allows the oversized neckline tie to be the star! The pattern is from the January 2019 issue of BurdaStyle magazine (design 120).…
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A Sweater Bandana in the Most Beautiful Red
Little Jimmy sported his new Sweater Bandana this weekend! Handknitted to match my Sweater in the Most Beautiful Red, the striking red color practically glowed in the morning sun. This was such a fun and quick knitting project — and I love that Jimmy and I have matching sweater knits! The bandana is worked in…
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A Sweater in the Most Beautiful Red
I recently finished knitting the Anniversary Sweater by Woolfolk and I can’t get over the beauty of the Tov yarn red colorway (T20)! It is such a flattering shade of red — cool, saturated, and striking. Released as a limited colorway to celebrate Woolfolk’s 10th anniversary, I hope it remains as part of their permanent…
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A New Handknit Shawl Welcomes Spring in Style
It’s March and Spring is around the corner! When the weather is unpredictable, a perfect accent is a handknit shawl like the Elisabetta Damask Shawl, a light-as-a-feather piece made in fine tussah silk yarn that shimmers in the sunlight. The shawl is knit loosely in a geometric design that adds texture as well as dimension.…
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A Coat-Cape is the New Piece I Didn’t Know I Needed
Is it a coat? Is it a cape? Well, it’s actually a fabulous hybrid — a coat-cape made of felted wool fabric. With its swingy silhouette, stand collar, and lantern sleeves, it is comfortable and easy to wear, yet so stylish. I love capes with their simple style, but sometimes they can be a bit…
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The Magic of the Color Camel
Camel is a magical color. Timeless and elegant, the color describes the rich shades of a camel’s coat. While it hasn’t been a popular color in my wardrobe, I now have two articles of camel-colored clothing in my closet — my Retro Camel Coat and Connelly Cardigan — so I decided to explore the history…
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The Hand-knit Connelly Cardigan and its Twisty Cables
The Connelly Cardigan is my latest handknit project. This visually stunning design features a twisty cable pattern for the body and a simple 1×1 rib stitch for the elegant neckline and underarm. The resulting fabric is highly textured, ultra squishy, and dense, with a wonderful weight and drape. Worked from the top down, the neckline…
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A New Camel Coat with Retro Style
My new retro camel coat is the first camel-colored article of clothing I’ve ever owned. Yes, you heard it right. I’ve never gravitated to brown colors — always black or gray. So this new make in such a classic and timeless color is a first for me! Reissued Burda Pattern from 1955 When I saw…
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My New Skirt: Reverse Applique in the Alabama Chanin Way
It’s finished! My first project using the Alabama Chanin reverse applique technique is done and dusted! The skirt is made up of four identical panels. Each panel has a slight flare at the hem, giving the skirt a nice A-line shape when stitched together. The hem is left unfinished, as the jersey knit fabric will…
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Wearing my Handknit Twinset in the Wild
I finished knitting the Woolfolk Pringle Twinset back in June but didn’t have a chance to wear it out until now because the weather has been so warm! As I wrote in a prior post, I love how this set turned out. The Woolfolk Tynd yarn knits up into a soft, drapey, and lightweight fabric.…
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Learning How to Reverse Applique the Alabama Chanin Way
I have to admit that, when Alabama Chanin’s unique reverse applique t-shirts gained popularity in the late 2000s, I wasn’t a fan. Unfinished edges (even though cotton jersey doesn’t need to be finished), uneven hand stitching, and exposed thread tails — the details that others found charming went against my tailored style aesthetic. I couldn’t…
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A Peplum Moto Jacket Marries Opposites for Edge
A peplum moto jacket seems like an odd combination. After all, moto jackets are tough while peplums are so feminine. But there’s something about marrying the two that somehow works — kind of like how opposites attract! My version has the requisite hardware of a moto jacket — visible zippers in the front and on…